Epress.am News from Armenia
Yerevan schoolchildren who have endured dire conditions have to continue to withstand the decrepit state of their schools, believes Armenia’s Minister of Education and Science Armen Ashotyan.
Commenting on the extremely dire state of the restrooms in several schools in the Armenian capital and the teaching staff and students being unable to, in fact, use the toilets, Ashotyan said: “What did those children do all these years? They endured and went to class.”
Asked shouldn’t the children go to the toilet, the minister said: “Haven’t they gone till now? And secondly, I don’t think that’s a question for an end-of-year press conference,” opting to focus on the Education Ministry’s achievements and successes in 2011 instead.
“Libraries were created in 125 communities, around 1700 children began going to kindergarten and preschool from Sept. 1 of this year and received a preschool education, and a new standard for preschool was adopted. The year was also full for secondary schools; a state standard of general education was approved, which sets the contents of our education and which is the source of educational programs, textbooks and methodology,” he said.
Ashotyan considered the process of certifying school principles to be one of the greatest reforms of 2011. “These exams were coordinated in three stages, and, let me note, they enjoyed the public’s trust. Around 8,000 teachers underwent extensive training.”
The education minister also informed the press that repair and construction work is ongoing funded by both the now-closed Lincy Foundation and the state budget. “Nine high schools were included in this program — as in Yerevan, so too in the regions. Around 1 billion 200 million drams [approx. $3.1 million USD] has been allocated for reconstruction of these 9 high schools.”
Ashotyan also stressed the importance of the new twelve-year education system, that several schools were supplied with new computers, and the inclusion of chess in schools.
On the matter of higher education, the education minister noted that the number of private universities and their faculties have dropped. “And a number of private universities are in the process of expanding,” he added.
A program of cooperation between higher educational institutions and high schools was also created.
Ashotyan further noted that 190 foreign students came to study in Armenia this year — not including citizens from Georgia and Russia, along with whom the overall number of foreign students is closer to 800.